Let me put this out there - when it comes to fashion it may seem that I do follow trends; as in I read about them, I figure out what’s ‘in‘ for the season and what to expect around the corner. However, this doesn’t mean I’m tragically inclined to re-stock my closet everytime the runways change - in fact, to be quite honest I’m a Chuck Taylors, comfortable denim and hooded sweatshirt type of guy. If you were to leave it up to me I’d wear this as uniform.

Which brings me to my next topic. The other day Crystal and I were at the mall - I mentioned I wanted a jacket and she insisted that we visit a variety of stores to see what cuts, styles, and fit they offered. Dumbfounded by this, I went along with it and finally questioned her motives - “I want you to dress sexier Wallace!” was her retort. Oh great. She left it at that, no real explanation or worse a definitive answer on just what is ‘sexy.’

So, let me ask you - just what is “sexy,” and what clothes define or are the very essence of “sexiness?” Is it green socks? How about street inspired Nike AF1s? Beat up, rock & roll denim? Or is it how one wears the said garments? Fitted? Loose? Baggy? Saggy? Sexy. Apparently I don’t get it.

“Sexy” equals “Celebrity”? Or rock/pop/r&b/hip hop star? Should I layer in flannel, button up vests, leather jackets, silver jewelery and top it all off with some form of feather garnished head wear? Would this be sexy?

How about following the trend spotting that the Sartorialist offers off his blog? According to him every man looks great in skinny jeans and 70’s shag carpet. Is this sexy? I mean would you date me if I wore my pants 3 sizes too small, and favored bow ties in place of semi-skinny ties?

Finally…maybe Crystal wants me to dress like runway, and quite possibly from the fall collection from Band of Outsiders. Check it out, it blends the Pop Celeb and New York street scene perfectly. The vests, the bow ties, the skinny pants, and the cardigans.

Does the person make the clothes or the clothes make the person? Maybe a bit of both? Regardless, how do I add ’sexy’ to my closet?

That is a question that begs to be answered another day, but for the moment I’m going to drink my wine and rock out in my hooded sweatshirt and John Varvatos Chucks.

-Wallace

When I bought my Kestrel, the idea was always to paint it white prior to building it up. Obviously my lack of patience got the better to me - not to say I have regrets, as the bike rides beautifully, but it’s just that I’ve always…always wanted a white carbon bike. I also toyed with the idea of building a darth vader blacked out pedal force frame along side the Kestrel but when I actually rode the Kestrel it rode so beautifully I knew I wouldn’t want two bikes that served the same purpose.

The other day while browsing the forums on Road Bike Reviews, out of sheer boredom, I stumbled upon this custom build by “Philippec.” The geometry looked spot on, as were the tube dimensions, diameters, and I especially loved the slender seat stays. The paint scheme also looked great, so with much interest I read on.

Turns out Philippec ordered these two frames (one mountain, one road) as test rigs for his team - “Veleole” was actually the team he competes with not the manufacturer. These frames are distributed through a company called HongFu Sports, and for a bit more they will custom paint these frames to your spec.

I’ve long since gotten over my bias, or suspicions rather, about Chinese carbon bike frames. Many of today’s top performing, tour winning, frames are made in China. Frames traditionally made in the USA or Italy have been resourced over seas to China - some labels include Giant, Scott, and even Colnago. To say a Chinese made carbon frame is inferior to one made in the states, Italy, Spain or other would be simply ignorant.

However, I’ve stayed away for two simple reasons a) Quality Control - it’s not that China is incapable of producing quality frames, it’s that left on their own - without management/inspection - they cut corners. Such as favoring 12k carbon where 3k should or could be used. b) Their original designs are ugly. Take this Pinarello wannabe for example.

Anyways, the real question is “How sweet would it be to have an ‘Aristokrat,’ or other private labeled frame. Philippec is going to build these two frames up and do a first person test. Also, the top of the line Cube product, ‘Litening’ looks suspiciously close to the Hong Fu FM015 SPL.

So…not real serious at this point, but we’ll see how this plays out and what the final quotes from Hong Fu are. Apparently “Jenny” is very easy to deal with.

-Wallace

PS. also check out the Torelli Verde LTD posted by MadCow at Fairwheel Bikes, and it’s awfully suspicious Taiwan clone - or origins rather, the Axman RS5 ISP. Dig the cable routing on this one.

“What do you want for Christmas?” is an often heard right about this time of year, in fact Crystal and I have battered it back and forth for a few weeks now - She also conned some of her gifts out of me yesterday. However, for the rest of you - if you’re curious or generous, here’s a sampling of what would make my Christmas even Merrier!

First up, we have the Singer 911 - Singer has taken the classic lines of the Porsche 912 and added all the modern creature comforts we’ve come to expect in today’s modern sport vehicles. Features such as a stiff, non-flexing chassis, advanced safety features, high intensity discharge headlamps, and a nearly full carbon fiber exterior. Did I mention the 2,400 pound Singer rockets to 60 in under 4 seconds with the help of a re-worked 3.84l flat six that produces 425 hp and 340 lb tq? Not to mention this is all pushed through a Getrag G50 6-speed manual transmission, and the best part - it’s orange!

Now, if a Singer 911 or any Porsche 911 ends up on my driveway for Christmas - “speechless” would be an understatement, but since the chances of that happening are nill, here’s some more grounded picks. I noticed this store at Santana Row yesterday with Crystal while we were taking advantage of Black Friday. Hlaska is a local designer that specializes in menswear and luggage - especially leather goods. Checked the stuff out and I think I found another bag to lust after. If the nominal brief (pictured) at $1100 is too expensive, there’s also the evergreen brief at $795 and caliper brief at $325, as well as wallets ranging from $30-$165. Personally, I prefer a split card case (not featured on the site) in ‘grass.’

One of few items that I don’t seem to ever tire of are whiskeys and bourbons. In short, there are just SO many! I’m not one that has a bias toward or against single barrel or blended whiskeys, but definitely prefer a longer, smoother, almost sweeter finish. So I typically lean favor the flavor profile of Macallan or the carmel linger of Jack Daniels. Currently my go to bottle has been a fresh release of Black Maple Hill. Beverage accessories are also in good taste, such as the AK-47 ice tray, or perfect square ice cube trays, or maybe a simple heavy cut crystal rock glass.

Speaking of whiskeys, what’s a Christmas list without some form of an modern or concept chair? Stumbled upon the ‘Whiskey Chair’ in my research - It’s made out of recycled whiskey barrels and that’s as much as I know about this chair. I’d be afraid to sit in it frankly, but wouldn’t think twice about lounging in these: Eames Molded Plastic Armchair with Eiffel Base - reminds me of dinner at the OXO Tower in London, Eames Lounge - in cherry/black; it’s a classic, and the Louis Ghost Chair by Philippe Starck.

Oh..did I ever mention I want a golden retriever? However Crystal will have no part in it, a golden - although beautiful, faithful, and extremely loyal, is too big, stinky, sheds too much, and way too much maintenance for us at this time in our lives. As an alternative, she has decided upon a Japanese Spitz (like Akiko) or a Shih-tzu. Sniffy on the other hand is not too enthusiastic about either idea.

So, yes I just bought Crystal one - but her’s is bright red, I want a pure black one. The Samsung L77 I purchased some time ago was all but impressive, in fact that’s much too generous of a compliment. The Nikon SLR is just too much to carry around more often then not so I’m on the lookout for a ‘pocket cam.’ If you feel more generous there’s also the Canon S90 and G11.

Another cool gadget that I’ve been following is the Eye-Fi. Produced by a local bay area company this little device disguised as a common SD card beams your photos to a specific online portfolio or account when your camera is in the presence of an open WiFi network as well as geotags your photographs. Small, simple and functional. Would be great for live blogging our trips and vacations. Although the photo shows a Nikon D90, I’m not sure if one is able to beam RAW files - I merely wish to use this with my point and shoot, whether it be that poor excuse for a camera Samsung L77 or fresh Canon SD780.

What wishlist would be complete without an Apple product? This year I actually have my eyes on an Mac Mini. “Why?!,” one might ask, after all it has less computing power then my macbook or macbook pro. Well, it would be awesome as a media computer. The iTV is much too limiting, and using one of our laptops for a media computer is just silly. Dell is also targeting this business with their Zino HD line of computers which feature a built in HDMI port. Surf the internet from your couch - chat, video conference, email, or watch youtube, download videos, or stream Hulu. This is why a media computer trumps your simple Tivo or iTV.

Of course no list is complete without a book, so how about a cookbook? We’ve spent more then our share of time in Napa this year and there’s no question our favorite restaurant in the area is Ad Hoc for it’s casual, community atmosphere. Thomas Keller just published Ad Hoc at Home in time for the holidays. It’s a big book, nothing less then his Bouchon, or French Laundry books but has a fun, almost classroom vibe throughout.

Finally, if you’re in a pinch and would rather not think - there’s the Banana Republic gift card. Embarrassingly enough, it seems my entire wardrobe is sourced from Banana Republic. I may have once mentioned that it looked like BR barfed all over me. Well, it’s sad but true - but I won’t say no!

Not sure why…but I’m craving for a couple of solid carnitas taco right now and a beer.

So…what are you wishing for?

Happy Holidays!

-Wallace

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a busy, but enjoyable Thanksgiving in the Bay Area. So busy, that I didn’t get to take any photos except the beginning of Crystal’s contribution to the holiday lunch.

Ours began the evening before Thanksgiving at my (mother’s side) Grandparent’s in Sunnyvale - we shared a meal of traditional Chinese cuisine. On Thanksgiving we visited Crystal’s aunts to share a traditional holiday luncheon with turkey and all the trimmings, and finally for dinner we spent it with my (father’s side) Grandmother, my uncle’s family and brother. Having family that’s always there for you is definitely one thing I’m always thankful for.

So just what did you give thanks for? I’m thankful for many things, amongst them; Crystal and Sniffy for keeping me level headed, friends for inspiration, comradery, and the laughs. My general health, and having clients that I enjoy working with. Thanksgiving shouldn’t be the only time in a year that we reflect on all of our good fortune, but definitely one that highlights what we’ve accomplished in a year.

With this being said, I’m looking to the rest of the holidays. Now to work off those turkey calories.

-Wallace

So, you ought to know I like out of the ordinary by now and what Terrum’s (Europrojektz Belgium) done with what I believe is/was his work van got my attention. It’s not over the top like our usual cars, but that shy looking exterior only hinted at the phattness going on inside.

Things began with a fresh 2008 Volkswagen Eurovan. Standard halogen lamps, ugly cookie cutter type wheels, and the ride height suitable for an safari prepped Land Rover.

One of the first transitions the bus went through was having the interior covered in black nappa leather, but this wasn’t good enough for Terrum.

He ended up sourcing a pair of fully powered seats out of an euro-spec (he’s in Europe after all) Audi A5/S5 and wrapped the rears to match. This is dedication to the craft.

Then he did all the typical modifications; suspension, fresh 1pc headlamps, some dubs and of course just to change things up - the steering wheel out of an mkVI golf!

Things are finally starting to pull together and the van was looking fresh. With everything painted, and Terrum finally happy with the ride height (he’s gone through a standard drop, to full air-ride, finally setting on a set of modified KW Variant 3’s) - it was show time.

Goes to show one doesn’t need much to really set off a car, and as the saying goes - the wheels do make the car. This one was no exception. Looking forward to what else Terrum plans for this van, and of course the new additions to the ever growing Europrojektz team.

Mod List:

-Multivan head and tail light
-Rear side windows and Black windows
-Rear view camera
-Painted doorhandles and mirrors
-dropjob, first air-ride, this was no good , later on KW variant 3 (modified)
-20 inch Summer rims
-Audi A5(S5) front seats full electric with matching rear seats
-Golf VI Steering Wheel
-Multivan Dash & Doorboards

First and Last photos credits go to Kevve who’s been photographing many of our stunning Belgium based vehicles.

-Wallace

Earlier this year Sam Adams introduced proprietary glassware which they claimed ‘rocked the beer world,’ and a few in the beer world agreed. It’s supposed to change, or enhance rather, every dynamic of Sam Adams or whichever beer that is so lucky to have the privilege.

I picked up two earlier today and the first thing that bothered me was unlike fine Riedel stemware, these were not crap, but shoddily made in contrast. Well, no one needs fine glassware to fully enjoy beer but the blue stenciling bothered me - I have a tick about using matched glasses for the correct beverage. In other words, I don’t have a huge problem, but would prefer to drink New Belgium Ale out of an New Belgium glass - being that I’m not a huge fan of Sam Adams this was a problem.

Taking a page out of removing logos on cell phones, I sought out Crystal’s oversized bottle of acetone and went to work - worst case scenario was I’d have a blurred glass I thought so I went at it. Turns out it will remove the blue pinstripe around the glass as that’s just stenciled on, but the dots and logo were silk screened on there (and good!). Whatever the case, I’m happier with them now - a bit more understated and when filled it all but disappears.

In other news I wanted to thank Raphael who was so kind to bring me back some Yeungling Lager from his New Jersey trip. For those who don’t know, this beer is nothing really special - in fact, it’s the cheap beer out east. The thing is, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to obtain on the west coast - they refuse to distribute it here and the only method to get any is to physically ship it back, or have a friend bring some back with them.

Enjoying this as I type. It’s been at least 5 years since my last Yeungling, and I’m looking to plenty when we arrive back east in February.

Happy Holidays!

-Wallace

Woke up the following morning and was finally initiated into the Land Rover owners club; the stupid thing broke down in the middle of a vineyard road. The battery tie down wiggled one of the battery cell covers open and while driving up and down Napa evaporated the battery electrolyte cell and damaged the alternator while in the process.

While waiting for AAA to send a truck I got to enjoy those vibrant colors once more. Once jumped, I went to town and picked up a new battery and met Crystal back at AVIA.

Today we were going to begin with brunch at Ad Hoc. Rather then let us select our breakfasts, they returned to the old “You eat what I tell you to eat.” methodology so Sia, Shebani, Crystal and I had baked breads, country fried steaks, roasted marble potatoes, egg in cheese biscuits, and sugar cookies with some sort of creme fresh. Delicious, and perfect calorie up for the ambitious day planned ahead.

Crystal has never been to Sonoma, so we crossed Highway 121 into the Valley of the Moon, in fact the first winery we visited was Valley of the Moon. The tourist trap of a winery used to produce one of my favorite cabernet sauvignons (around 2000-2002), but today it would serve as an intro to Sonoma for Crystal.

Next up was a pour of bubbly and a quick snack of salami, aged cheddar and Bouchon wreath bread at Gloria Ferrer. The view from the observation deck was just phenomenal. Patches of yellows, oranges, and oranges stretched as far as we could see. Crystal mentioned having a house in Napa again, I pretended I didn’t hear.

We visited a winery or two more, but ended up at Cline Cellars, more famous for producing the Red Truck line of table wines. Although still scenic, I wasn’t a huge fan of any of their wines - but did like their ancient vines mourvedre enough to spring for a bottle.

More importantly we found out they had some sort of pheasant collection in the back, and Crystal loves furred or feathered animals…these birds have met their match. I was pretty sure they were for our visual enjoyment.

Crystal decided otherwise, and proceeded to tap the cages. Not as violently as the picture suggests but she did make her presence known. I thought this captured Crystal perfectly in her element.

Just when we thought we were done we discovered DONKEYS!!! Not just any donkeys, but Italian Dwarf Donkeys, for a brief moment we had an argument on how large normal donkeys were - I said they were larger, Crystal swore they were the size of these burros. The sign settled everything - I won.

I did however think they were pretty darn cool, I wouldn’t mind having one around. Maybe Sniffy could hitch a ride.

So this last wine country visit of 2009 seemed to be going wonderfully until I realized that the battery symbol on the rover was not and ‘i feel like i want to light up’ light but an indication that the alternator was on its way going out. The thing gave up on us in San Rafael and stranded us at a Chevron station. To wrap up the night we summoned a car service to take us back down to the south bay and I got the rover the following day. Almost a perfect ending to an spectacular weekend. Now, the rover’s in the shop and getting a few things done - I’m hoping it will be bulletproof for the ski season.

-Wallace

Places we visited on Sunday:

Ad Hoc Restaurant
6476 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599-1294

Valley of the Moon
777 Madrone Rd.
Glen Ellen, Ca 95442

Gloria Ferrer
23555 Carneros Hwy. 121 (Arnold Drive)
Sonoma, Ca

Cline Cellars
24737 Arnold Dr
Sonoma, CA 95476-9216

Viansa
25200 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, CA 95476

This past weekend we decided to take a group trip to Napa, as although Crystal and I have frequented the area often (as you’ve seen documented) - we’ve never gone with Sia & Shebani, which we’ve gone almost everywhere else with as well as Mike and his wonderful wife Janine. Crystal and I wanted to visit CADE ever since we sampled their sauvignon blanc at Plumpjack a few Napa trips back, and to expedite things Mike brought his wife there for their anniversary and took pictures causing us to head back up once more. What we found at CADE we loved, and with the new found excitement we were able to coax Sia and Shebani up north - Mike and Janine needed no convincing.

We each had our own schedules, and yes this trip’s carbon footprint is BIG if any of you were wondering. Crystal and I arrived in Napa early. Our first stop was at Dean and Deluca to pick up a cappuccino, breakfast and a picnic lunch. Then we headed further north to Calistoga. I wanted to take Crystal up to Sterling Vineyards - although kitschy it’s one of my favorite wineries from a scenic point of view. Little did I know that this would also be Crystal’s first time going on an gondola.

The visual attack on our corneas was nothing short of captivating. The yellows, reds, browns that lined each vine were just a bit more then stimulating, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Napa as gorgeous as we’ve seen her this day. Everything was vibrant, alive, and inspiring.

Speaking of inspired, who would have thought I’d be having breakfast with a glass of pinot noir? Enjoying a ham and cheese croissant and apple crumble muffin high up on Sterling’s observation deck.

Three Hundred Sixty Degree view of Napa Valley. Pinot Noir. Baked Goods. Crystal. What else could I want? I was inspired!

Although we were inspired, Sterling’s wines weren’t - therefore we took the gondola back down and skipped over the Cuvaison Vineyards. Cuvaison was an organic winery that just remodeled their Silverado Trail tasting room…I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but once again…Organic and Wine just did not do it for me. Maybe I miss the taste of Deet.

After Cuvaison we skipped over to Frank Family Vineyards, another vineyard I’ve been meaning to visit for many trips - another unicorn caught. I imagine tasting during the week or earlier in the day would have been more pleasant. Our first host, at the bubbly station (who knew Frank Family made sparkling wine?), was ripped - as in drunk. The second island was beyond crowded - the only justification of this entire experience was their serene picnic grounds which we utilized for our picnic lunch. Dean and Deluca makes a mean ham and havarti sandwich.

We spent an extended moment at Frank Family then started heading up the mountain to CADE which we were to meet Mike & Janine as well as Sia and Shebani. Crystal promptly fell asleep in the car and I left her with her catnap.

Again, beautiful hues throughout the valley - especially going up Howell Mountain Road, as the vineyards are planted in waves rather then flat rows. I roamed around CADE while our friends found their way up the mountain.

Mike beat Sia up the mountain, apparently BMW’s navigation took Sia right past CADE’s rusted entrance to where Howell Mountain meets Howell Mountain - Sia apparently has a photo of this. To BMW’s credit, their concierge service was also able to help him backtrack and find the road to CADE.

With the whole party in CADE’s breathtaking tasting room and Crystal up from her catnap we partook in the current release of their multi format aged sauvignon blanc (stainless, oak, concrete, etc.), cabernet sauvignon cuvee, and cabernet sauvignon howell mountain. We now have collected their entire release. Heh.

Although we could have easily spent the remainder of the day or weekend even here, we were the last group on site and the sun was setting. We didn’t wish to keep our gracious hosts any longer and descended down the mountain to our respective hotels for some well deserved r & r.

We ended up staying at AVIA in the middle of Downtown Napa, thought we’d seek a change of scenery. What we found was almost the exact opposite of Silverado Resort and this was a great thing - because for what Silverado Resort offered they were hard to beat. If you want to get away from it all, go to Silverado - if you want to get away from it all but still feel connected with the hip, modern crowd go to AVIA.

Our room was awesome, reminded us of Hotel 1000 in Seattle which is to date our favorite modern boutique hotel (and still is). The open format of the room and use of divider walls rather then full walls was a great architectural detail - especially as the room was no much more then 600 square feet. The champagne from the Hotel’s sales manager was also a nice touch. Hard to beat huh? Here’s a few pictures.

After a couple ours of rest and relaxation we met up with the cheerful group at Angele Restaurant on Main Street. They were french and a bargain: bangin’ food, almost too quick service, and a proper 3 course dinner for 6 for under $400. Which Mike and Janine very generously picked up (along with the tasting fees at CADE), what could I say - Janine said it the best, “one of the most generous men I know.”

Thanks Mike & Janine! We had a great first day!

Pictures via Flickr.

-Wallace

Places we visited on November 11, 2009:

Dean and Deluca
607 Saint Helena Hwy S
St Helena, CA 94574-2209

Sterling Vineyards
1111 Dunaweal Ln
Calistoga, CA 94515-9635

Cuvaison Winery
4550 Silverado Trail
Calistoga, CA

Frank Family Vineyards
1091 Larkmead Lane
Calistoga, CA 94515

CADE Winery
360 Howell Mountain Road South
Angwin, CA 94508

AVIA Hotel
1450 1st St
Napa, CA 94559

Angele Restaurant
540 Main St
Napa, CA 94559-3353

Henry’s Cocktail Lounge
823 Main St
Napa, CA 94559

If you haven’t made holiday plans yet, such as yours truly - may I cordially suggest The 2009 Macallan Winter Experience. For either 4 or 7 nights you will be amongst scotch drinking friends at the Ritz-Carlton in Aspen, Colorado. Wait. That’s not all! You will most likely also have the opportunity to tie your overpriced argyle himalayan cashmere sweater around your neck, carry around a double leaded crystal hi-ball glass and repeat, ‘ha ha ha, jolly ol’ chap!’ all the while flashing your bright white, immaculate, american psycho killer teeth with a group of absolute strangers!

Oh, did I mention Macallan wants you to pony up either $3036(4 night) or $4585(7 night) and a $125 dinner for this extremely limited experience?

Tell you what, if you haven’t made up your mind, let’s hop on a jet to Vail - I have a house, and you can repay me in Macallan.

-Wallace

ps. Sia, Sunny and myself attended one of these ‘Macallan Scotch Tastings’ when they first began their internet marketing campaign and all we found was a group of lost scotch fans wondering hopelessly lost in the skirts of Fort Mason. We swore, “Never Again.”

For whatever reason I woke up this morning and began searching for a Sinn U1. This is a watch that I’ve always considered, but never “pulled the trigger,” so to speak. This watch was first released at Basel 2005 and the horological world was alive with buzz. To those who do not know, Sinn watches unlike Rolex, Panerai, Omega and so forth are not very collectible but offer almost unparalleled value - for a precision crafted instrument that just works, and an absolute workhorse of a watch.

2005 also happened to be the year I became disconnected with the watch world, the last year I followed the likes of Panerai, Rolex, Basel Fair, movements, special editions, so on and so forth. With some digging I stumbled upon the Sinn U1 Tempus Limited Edition.

The U1 Tempus was a project between a fabled Singaporean watch store called “The Hour Glass” and Sinn. There is no difference aside from the standard issue Sinn U1 except they have PVD’d the entire case, clasp, and even adjustment tool. The painted bezel really sets things off, and I believe it’s a richer shade of orange.

The end result is quite drastic in my opinion. Also I realized that I have never owned a black automatic watch, this immediately shot to the top of the “I Want!” list. The drag is, as this was an limited edition there were only either 250 or 399 made (there have been conflicting reports on the actual number). Each of their owners have fallen in love with this watch - I’ve found none for sale.

Either way, the tempus would be a piece I’d love to own, but I think my search for a standard Sinn U1 will persist. A watch I could wear to run errands, take on vacation, and most importantly to camp, backpack and essentially disappear from civilization - if that happens, i’m going to need a dependable method to track time.

With this said, since the Tempus project Sinn has released an all black version (not my thing) and coming soon as another collaboration with The Hour Glass a white version seen here.

[ via Horomundi ]
[ via WatchProSite ]
[ via Harry Tan U1 First Review ]
[ via Harry Tan U1 Tempus ]

-Wallace